Col. Marcia “Kim” Douglas Colonel, Charles Town Maroons Charles Town, Portland, Jamaica “Communities and the Wellness Tourism Experience” Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference November 20 -21 th 2019 Montego Bay Convention Centre
Good day. I bring you greetings from The Charles Town Maroons in Portland, Jamaica. I am Colonel Marcia “Kim” Douglas, leader of the Charles Town Maroons. I am very happy to be here in Montego Bay at the Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference 2019 . I am honoured to be invited to take part in this panel discussion on “Communities and the Wellness Tourism Experience” Tourism is the life blood of Jamaica and the Maroons of Jamaica are playing their path.
The Charles Town Maroon is 1 of 5 Maroon communities in Jamaica and1 of 3 Maroon communities on the north east of the island of Jamaica known as the Windward Maroons, the other 2 are on the west side of the Island and known as the Leeward Maroons. Charles Town is the only Maroon communities that is not situated in the hills of Jamaica and the only one that is close to the general population of the country. Charles Town is located 1 mile from the seaside town of Buff Bay, Portland. The Charles Town Maroon community used to be in the hills of Portland at Old Crawford Town, but moved down to the plains over time. Charles Town is one of the gateways to the UNESCO World Heritage Site “The Blue and John Crow mountains.
I would like to preface my presentation with this quotation. It was written by the past leader of the Charles Town Maroons, the late Colonel Frank Lumsden. It is part of his welcome in the 1 st edition of our Conference & Festival Magazine. It can be found on page 3 at https://maroons-jamaica.com/conference-festival-2015/ “The Maroons because of their continuing warfare, 85 years of armed conflict they left no edifices as did the colonial powers, what they left is as valuable. They left trails along which if you walk you can hear the ancestors whispering. They left us a culture with values to live by. One such value is to make decisions mindful of the next generation” We are looking at what our ancestors did and what they left us.
What values did they leave us? Land History Food They left us Arts & Herbs Craft Culture Music These elements puts us in a very good position to pursue Health and Wellness Tourism as part of Indigenous tourism.
“Communities and the Wellness Tourism Experience” According to the World Health Organization (WHO) health is a state of physical , mental and social well-being and not merely the complete absence of disease or infirmity . In accordance with this definition wellness can be equated with health. Health and wellness involves several well-being dimensions including physical, mental , Social, sexual, emotional, cultural, spiritual, educational , occupational, financial, ethical and existential dimensions. ( taken from the Medical Tourism Magazine ) The Charles Town community has no hospital or other medical facility, or even a spa, but have been involved in Health and Wellness Tourism for some time now. We have focused on physical, mental , Social, emotional, cultural, spiritual, educational, with a special emphasis on foods , music and hiking. • Our food is prepared from fresh herbs and spices and in authentic Maroon ways. These herbs and spices are also used as medicines. • The famous Charles Town Drummers and Dancers perform, providing Maroon music which is itself a drawing card. • We have 2 Hiking trails that were used by Maroons of the past. At our annual conference and festival we offer a full Wellness Village .
The Pride and Joy of the Maroons of Charles Town The Charles Town Maroons Drummers and Dancers We have developed a drumming, singing and dancing group that has toured Canada, France and Africa. This has developed into performing maroon lore and anecdotes through song, dance and drumming thus ensuring its preservation.
What have we done with what we got? With tourism in our mind, we have done the following:
Open invitation 12 th Annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference & Festival, June 20 – 23, 2020, @ the Asafu Yard, Charles Town, Portland, Jamaica As we continue the discussion you will agree that we are trying to use the values left to us is being used to help us embrace our future and that this event is allowing us to do so. I would like to take time out and invite you all to attend Conference & Festival 2020. Next year will be the 12 th consecutive staging and we would love for you to come and celebrate with us. I will assure you that the experience falls in the not to be missed category. I am not only inviting you to attend but also to participate as presenters. We not only accommodate persons for the academic conference but also in the culture arena. Over the years we have had poets (including 2 poet laureates), storytellers, musicians, speakers, drama and others.
Closing In today’s topic we dealt with one area of tourism and in this area there are many sections. It is for each community to find the area(s) and/or section(s) that is best for their situation. The community of Charles Town has embraced tourism completely and is working very hard to improve what has been started. We are also looking at new areas. Our vision must be one large enough for our efforts to grow into and burrow from the spirit of the Maroons, that a small force with passion for a single idea can do what a large army can not do. YenKinPong pikiBo Tan kinginbam “children of God, stand firm”.
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